The One Sky Project: Cultural and Indigenous Astronomy Short Films

110 South 400 West,Salt Lake City UT 84101

13 January, 2022

Description

Join us for an evening of cultural and indigenous astronomy short films shown in the Hansen Dome Theatre. People around the world share the same sky, but we all look to the stars with different eyes. We use the sky as a canvas to share culture, as an instrument to pass on traditional knowledge, and as a tool to navigate and understand place. These short planetarium films illuminate cultural and Indigenous perspectives from across the globe, allowing us to experience our one sky with new eyes. Join us for an enlightening evening as we present these short films in the Hansen Dome Theatre at Clark Planetarium. Finding Patterns: The Forge of Artemis In ancient Greece, Orion was a mighty but not particularly popular hunter, but his constellation shines brightly—a familiar shape to people around the world. Why did the goddess Artemis immortalize him in the sky? Finding Patterns: The White Tiger In China, the motion of the moon divides the sky into “houses,” and several of these together form the White Tiger. The tiger’s seventh house signals the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one. Finding Patterns: Celestial Canoe The First People of what is now northern Canada watched the slow turn of a canoe in the sky—mirroring the change in seasons on land. This celestial canoe guided them through a particularly challenging part of the year. Finding Patterns: War and Peace For many, the stars offer solace and comfort. For our Japanese narrator, images in the sky—even the colors of the stars—bring back memories of music, history, and childhood. Finding Patterns: Wayfinders Hear from a Hawaiian navigator as she describes how the sky provides a compass and calendar for the oceanic people whose voyages connected islands throughout the Pacific Ocean. To Seek Far: Thunderbird The sky is a powerful tool for measuring time, and for the Diné, or Navajo people, the Thunderbird transcends space and time, revealing the passage of seasons and connecting earth and sky. To Seek Far: Jai Singh’s Dream Amid the political chaos of 18th-century India, a great ruler brought the order of the skies down to earth. His giant instruments allowed for precise measurements of stars, planets, and the passage of time—and his observatories still stand today!